Congressman Cory Gardner’s decision to abandon his re-election and instead challenge Democratic Sen. Mark Udall has created that rare political animal: an open congressional seat with a must-watch primary.
After a slew of Republicans considered entering the 4th Congressional District race, in the end it has boiled down to a four-way free-for-all.
District Attorney Ken Buck is considered the front-runner, having campaigned twice for the U.S. Senate, but he’s got competition from two fellow Weld County officeholders, Commissioner Barbara Kirkmeyer and state Sen. Scott Renfroe.
Also running is Steve Laffey of Larimer County, a former Rhode Island politician who briefly ran in Colorado for the U.S. Senate and governor before pulling out of those races.
“Ken Buck is a brand and that’s an advantage, but this definitely is a race,” said Denver pollster Floyd Ciruli.
What makes it more interesting, he said, is that Weld and Douglas counties are places to watch when it comes to Republican politics.
The winner of the June 24 GOP primary is expected to face Democrat Vic Meyers of Trinidad.
The 4th Congressional District, stretching from Wyoming to New Mexico, is a conservative district, which is why Renfroe’s supporters argue he has the edge.
“Scott Renfroe is the only candidate who has a voting record that represents our district,” said state Rep. Chris Holbert of Parker. “With nearly a third of the voters in CD4 in Douglas County, I think how Scott performs there is key to him overcoming Ken Buck’s head start.”
Renfroe, who is term-limited this year, is a former school board member who is the second-generation owner of a foundation business.
“I think my experience as a small-business person will be helpful,” he said. “I’m not an attorney, I’m a concrete guy.”
He also noted he has the support of former Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave.
Renfroe said he will put about $200,000 of his own money into the race. That matches what Buck had in his federal campaign account when he dropped his 2014 Senate bid to make way for Gardner and then decided to run for Congress.
Buck’s two Senate races have made him a well-known candidate. When he ran against former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton for the GOP Senate nomination in 2010, he carried almost every county in the district, some by sizable margins. Same with the general election, where he lost to Democrat Michael Bennet by less than 2 percentage points.
Buck, who has Gardner’s endorsement, said he knows the race isn’t automatically his, and he will have to work to secure every vote.
When Buck ran for the Senate in 2010, Weld County Commissioner Sean Conway seconded his nomination, but this time around Conway is backing his fellow commissioner.
He pointed out that Kirkmeyer has been a dairy farmer, a small-business owner, a cabinet director for former Gov. Bill Owens and has served on the commission two different times spanning 13 years, and is knowledgeable about water and energy.
“I’m not against any of the other candidates. I think all of them are good men. I think they all bring something to the table,” Conway said. “It’s just a matter of Commissioner Kirkmeyer bringing so much more.”
Over the last three weeks, Kirkmeyer has picked up the support of a number of fellow county commissioners in the district.
“My message is I plan to go to Washington and fight, but I’ve already been fighting for you,” she said.
She noted her involvement in last year’s secession movement involving 11 counties — 10 of which are in the 4th District.
“It wasn’t so much about seceding from the state as it was sending a message that there’s a lot of discontent with what was going on at the state Capitol,” Kirkmeyer said, pointing to bills about renewable energy mandates and gun control.
Buck was opposed to secession. Renfroe, while in agreement that the Democratic-controlled legislature was not listening, did not publicly say where he stood.
Lynn Bartels: 303-954-5327, lbartels@denverpost.com or twitter.com/lynn_bartels
4th Congressional District
Lynn Bartels, The Denver Post
